Zostera muelleri Irmisch ex Asch. APNI* Description: Monoecious, submerged rhizomatous perennial seagrass with flowering stems to 60 cm long.
Leaves with blade to 30 cm long and 5 mm wide, 3–5-veined, apex entire or notched, obtuse; sheath open, to 10 cm long, 5 mm wide, with membranous margins.
Inflorescence produced from older rhizomes. Spathes similar to leaves, to 30 cm long, the blade often deciduous after flowering. Spadix with 7–12 flowers of each sex; retinacula triangular to obliquely ovate, c. 1 mm long.
Seeds elliptic, 2–3 mm long, striate, shed from floating inflorescence.
Flowering: during warmer months.
Distribution and occurrence: Along whole coast; also Lord Howe Island; Qld, Vic, SA, New Zealand. Grows in submerged marine or estuarine habitats, often exposed at low tide.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, SC, LHI
Other Australian states: Qld Vic. Tas. S.A.
Text by S. W. L. Jacobs (1993); edited KL Wilson (Feb 2013)
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993): Jacobs, S.W.L., Les, D.H. & Moody, M.L. (2006), New combinations in Australasian Zostera (Zosteraceae). Telopea 11(2): 128. Key modified by K.L.Gibbons from Modified from J.Kuo (2020) Zostera. In: Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Zostera [Date Accessed: 08 April 2020].
| | Key to the subspecies | |
| 1 | Leaf apex notched to rounded; leaf blade with 3 longitudinal veins; rhizome with 2–4 roots at each node | subsp. muelleri |
| Leaf apex truncate; leaf blade with 3 or 5 longitudinal veins; rhizome with 2 groups of roots at each node | subsp. capricorni |
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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